THE HURTING
by Aggie Escott
Summary: Aaron and Spence are back at work. But something isn't right. Rated K plus to start with. May increase it later. Please review for me. Thank you Rated T for ch6
1. The Start

**SWEET REVENGE**  
Chapter 1  
The Start

"_**[The **__**pub**__**] was a revolutionary invention.**__**" - Mark Girouard**_

  
Aaron Hotchner sat down at his desk with a sigh, dropping his crutches on the floor with a clatter. Another session over for three days, The bureau had insisted he receive counselling if he wanted to return to work after only six months. And he had had to agree to it or go nuts climbing walls at home. But he hated it. He remembered having to write an appraisal on Gideon when he returned to work. He glanced out of his window into the bull pen. Who was writing his? He just hoped it wasn't Strauss.

Dave probably. That would be fine. He trusted Dave to be honest and only say that he wasn't fit to return to work if he really thought it was necessary and he wasn't.

He wondered who would be writing Reid's, although his was probably done by now, as he'd been back at work for six weeks now. He must have come out ok because he was still here.

He hated this being unsure. He hadn't liked the assignment with Gideon. He liked this situation even less.

And spending an hour twice a week answering questions like 'How do you feel about what happened to you?' _(How do you think I feel; I was tortured, raped and beaten for three months, then attacked and beaten at my place of work.)_ 'How do you feel about Mason Lowe's body never being found?' _(I hope the fishes ate him.)_

Of course, that's not what he actually said.

He wished he was gifted like Reid, so that he could bluff his way through. He always came out wondering if he still had a job.

He hated this being out of control.

He needed to debrief his team. They had just finished a case that involved the kidnapping of a bank manager's family, the fourth in a row. It was quick and successful, and the team was working well. He'd read the reports, now he wanted their personal thoughts on how they could have done better. It was always a pleasant meeting, and they had got into the rather pleasant habit of going for a drink after at the end of the day, unless something else cropped up.

_I hope it doesn't. I need an hour of down time with my friends........._

He picked up the phone and called Rossi.

"Debriefing in ten?"

"That's fine, Aaron. I'll let JJ know."

"Ok, I'll call the others."

He pushed his glasses onto his nose properly, picked up his crutches and got up. Opening his door had caused him the biggest problem out of everything, but he was finally getting the hang of it. At least he had managed to ditch the wheelchair now. He manhandled the door open and managed to almost fall through it. He glanced around.

Good. No one saw.

He leaned on the hand rail.

"BAU team, debriefing in the conference room in ten minutes." He announced.

He watched Emily as she pointedly didn't look at him. She had cooled off in the last few months, almost to nothing. He thought she might be embarrassed to speak to him now they were working together, and their relationship had cooled. He was sad that it was over, but not altogether surprised. No one stayed with him for long now. He suspected that his work was too angst ridden to cope with. He remembered that Garcia and Reid had embarked on a relationship, but it ended when she couldn't take the pressure.

His mind flashed back to Haley, his first and only really true love. It had been a while now, and yet she was still the touchstone that he measured any potential partner with. The only one who came close was Kate, and he felt a stab of a tear remembering her.

The first time they met he fell for her but he kept back – he wasn't free and loved Haley. Then the second time.............he could still feel her warm blood flowing over his hands as he tried to pinch off the artery.

He looked down at his hands expecting the blood to still be there

Then he hobbled his way to the conference room to get the board ready.

-0-0-0-

Reid looked up at his boss and the man he loved so desperately. He wanted to shout up to him, 'I'll look after you; just come to me.......'

But of course he didn't. Instead he pulled his messenger bag round onto his lap. He undid the buckles and took out the file of the last case.

His arm still ached even after all this time, but he hadn't mentioned it to anyone. There's no way he wanted physiotherapy on it. That hurt more than the break.

He pulled the file out of the bag, and made his way over to the conference room.

He still felt guilty about his replacement having to step down and return to the field office he was assigned from. He wanted to tell Hotch he felt bad about it. Any excuse for initiating a conversation.

He hoped they were going for drinks after – it had become almost a tradition – he needed to stay very sober though. He didn't want to make a pass at him........well he did, but he didn't.

Dammit, why was life so dammed complicated?........

-0-0-0-

Morgan watched him go. He had ten minutes. And he could probably remember all his notes word for word anyway.

He reached for his own notes, momentarily forgetting the pain in his shoulder from the gunshot. He winced as the pain caught him, and hoped no one noticed. The last thing he wanted was to be carted off to therapy – physio or any other kind!

He waited a few minutes, taking the time to flick through his notes. It was straight forward enough, except they could have introduced the profile sooner than they did. It would not have affected the final outcome, but might have shortened the anxiety time for the Parker family.

He got up and followed Reid.

-0-0-0-

Emily was uncomfortable. She was still in love with Aaron, but she couldn't give him what he wanted and needed. He was way too intense for her, and it was moving too fast. She wasn't used to the passion he had. That same passion with which he approached his work overflowed into his personal life.

Most women would jump at it, she thought, but it was too much for her.

She knew that Aaron still had feelings for her. She caught him watching her sometimes. He always looked away as soon as she met his eyes, but she knew.

She picked up her notes and headed off to the conference room.

-0-0-0-

The meeting was brief and fairly informal. The team always liked the debriefing. There were always improvements to be made, new lessons to be learned, and they all wanted to improve their work. Their work was other people's salvation. The better they were at their work, the more lives they could save.

But few cases went as well as the Parker case

They all closed their note books and the sound of happy chatter and chairs scraping the floor filled the room.

It's like the bell has rung and it's home time, thought Aaron, back at school again on a wave of unpleasant memories. Glancing around his team, he wondered how many if any had nostalgic memories of childhood. He knew Reid and Emily had lonely childhoods, and Morgan had memories that he would rather didn't surface. He knew surprisingly little about JJ and Dave's young days, but he wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't something that hurt to remember.

And Penelope Garcia........what of her? She reminded him of a girl he got close to once at high school. Not to look at – Dharma had been a skinny kid with scruffy hair, and waited at the gate for him at the end of each day; he never found out if she went to school but she wasn't daft. Her parents were hippies too, a happy go lucky childhood full of fun. Hotch wondered how Garcia could look at the images she saw day to day. He had told Strauss once that she surrounded herself with fluffy images and toys to keep her sane, the latest addition being a huge poster of baby pandas. A smile flicked across his face as he remembered seeing it for the first time.

He packed up his files and notes and followed the others out of the room. Morgan went to collect his Baby Girl, and five minutes later they were by the lift ready to go. They always all took their own cars so they could go straight home afterwards, or leave their cars in the pub car park and share a cab to go home, depending on how much they decided to drink. But Aaron still couldn't drive. He slung his crutches into the back of Dave's car and went with him.

Hotch decided he was gong to drink a lot tonight. He felt lonely, although surrounded by friends. Sitting at the table later, he cast Reid a sidelong look and saw he was watching him again. He knew very well the feelings Reid had for him, and he was flattered, but he wasn't sure if he wanted his life to go that way. He had decided no more relationships – ever – at work or otherwise. He didn't want a reputation as a tart, although he thought if he had a relationship with Reid, it would be for life.

As he got a little more drunk his thoughts became uncoordinated and a little silly so he decided to stop thinking and laugh for a bit.

_Might even be something funny to laugh at........_

The current comic relief was Reid doing impressions of FBI Agents. His current one was Strauss – _If it was up to me, Agent_ – and it had everyone in laughing. Then he got up to get drinks, and he did a Morgan Strut to the bar and they all screamed – except Morgan who didn't recognise himself.

"I don't walk like that, do I? Do I walk like that? I don't.....do I?"

When he was answered 'yes' from all sides, he started to laugh too.

But it was the Dave Rossi Slouch on the way back from the bar that had them crying.

"How do you do it?" Garcia said between her tears.

"I am an observer of people." He said, perfectly mimicking Hotch's intonation, right down to the head tilt and eye brow flash. Hotch smiled. He really was pretty good.

"Let's see you do the girls then!" Garcia said.

"Hey Sweet Cheeks, talk dirty to me." he answered, sending them into hysterics.

That was when the barman came over and asked them to keep the noise down.

"Oh sorry." Dave said grinning. "We will."

"That would look good in tomorrow's paper. 'Seven Feds get slung out of local pub for raucous behaviour."

"Poor Erin would have apoplexy!" Morgan said.

"Maybe we should leave anyway." Dave said. "Back to my place. Dogs are safe. I've fed them this week."

"Sounds cool." Garcia said.

"Yeah, Me too." Emily said.

As they collected their things together, two uniformed police officers came into the pub. Aaron watched as they went to the barman who pointed out the little group. The two cops made their way over to them.

"Which of you is Agent Aaron Hotchner?"

"That's me." Hotch said, pushing himself to his feet with his crutches. "What can I do for you?"

"I am afraid we have some bad news, Sir. You might want to sit down."

"No, I'm ok. What has happened?"

"It's your wife Haley, Sir. There's been an accident. I'm afraid she's dead."

Aaron sat back down, his eyes wide with shock. His friends fell silent.

"W-what......how.....what happened?"

"She lost control of her car Sir, and it hit a tree."

"My son! Jack. What about Jacky?"

"The attending officers are trying to locate your son. You see, the car caught fir. There is very little left. We don't know if he was in the car at the time."

"And Haley......are you sure?......"

One of the officers touched his shoulder.

"We are so sorry for your loss, Agent Hotchner."


	2. The Accident

**THE HURTING**  
Chapter 2  
The Accident

"_**The loss of a child is the most devastating thing a parent could face." Opening words in a leaflet for bereaved parents**_

Hotch looked at the policeman in front of him, his head tilted and his eyes creased in confusion.

"Are you sure it was Haley, and not someone using her car?" he said. "Yes that must be it." He got out his cell phone. "I'll call her." With shaking fingers he hit fast dial and listened as her phone rang. "She will answer it, she's a heavy sleeper..............I'll try her cell. She's probably at a friend's." His fingers hovered over the keys. "I can't remember her cell number!" He dropped the phone on the table. "Oh god! I can't remember her number." He pressed his hands on his face, pushing his glasses off onto the floor. "Why can't I remember?"

His friends sat in total shocked silence. None of them had particularly liked Haley. They all thought their Unit Chief deserved better. But they also knew that Hotch was still in love with her, and they felt his anguish. Dave put his arm around Hotch's shoulders.

"Come on, let me take you home."

Hotch stood, pushing his arms through the crutches mechanically as Dave guided him out of the room. Reid looked up at the two cops.

"Thank you. We know what a horrible job that is. Thank you for your sensitivity."

The cops nodded, and turned and left.

"I need another drink." Garcia said. "Would any of you care to join me?"

The other four nodded, and Morgan went to the bar for them.

-0-0-0-

Dave walked with Hotch to his car. He hadn't drunk too much so he was still ok to drive. He helped Hotch into the car and threw the crutches in the back.

"Jack. I need to find Jack." Hotch said, suddenly sober.

"Let's get you home, Aaron, and we can make some 'phone calls." Dave said. "We will call the Los Angeles Police Department and find out what has happened. And yes. We will find Jack."

"He should have been in bed!" Hotch said. His voice was soft and belied the grief he was feeling. "He will be at Haley's sister."

Dave stopped the car. "Call her. Aaron, and find out."

Hotch scrolled through his address book, and called her. She picked up the phone almost straight away. "Haley?"

"No, it's me, Aaron. Is jack there?"

"No he's not. Why? Should he be?"

"Oh my god!" Hotch rested his cell on his lap and tipped his head back onto the head rest. "Oh no!"

Dave took the phone from his numb fingers. "This is David Rossi, Aaron's colleague. Have the police been to see you yet?"

"No. Why?"

"I am sorry to have to tell you this, Miss Brooks, but Haley has been in an accident. We don't know the details yet, but please, If you hear anything, please call."

"Sure I can do that." She said. "Haley was meant to be coming over to drop Jack off. I thought that was her calling. Is she hurt?"

"We believe so. Aaron just needs to make certain Jack is ok." He said. "I'll call you when we have more news." He cut the connection. "Let's get you home, Aaron and make some calls."

-0-0-0-

An hour later, Aaron was sitting in his living room, numb with shock. Dave was sitting opposite him, on the phone to LAPD. Dave was listening intently.

"We believe we are looking at murder." The voice said. "The driver, Mrs Hotchner, lost control because the brakes had been tampered with. The crash didn't kill her, the fire did."

"Murder?" Aaron looked up at Dave, his eyes red and swollen. "Are you sure?"

"We are certain. An accelerant was used after the crash. I am afraid Mrs Hotchner was alive when the fire started."

"Oh god." Dave said. "Are there any signs of a child in the car? We can't locate the Hotchner child, a boy of four."

"There was no child in the car at the time of the fire. But there is evidence of blood in the child seat, so he could have been there at the time of the accident."

"So whoever torched the car could have Jack." Dave concluded. "Thank you. I'll be in touch." He put the phone on the table.

"Someone killed Haley?" Hotch could not believe what was happening. "Jack?"

"Jack was not in the car when it caught fire. The police believe that if he was there he was removed from the car before the fire."

"We need to call the hospitals, Dave. He could be alone in hospital somewhere."

"I'll check." Dave picked up the phone again and called enquiries, and got put through to the. Los Angeles General Hospital, who said they had had no child casualties that day. As he put the phone down he shook his head. "Let me get you a drink, Aaron."

Aaron didn't answer. He was still trying to come to terms with what he was hearing. Dave went to the side board and poured a scotch for each of them. He put Aaron's in his hand, and Aaron automatically raised it to his lips and sipped at it. They sat silently for a few minutes, Aaron white and shaky, Dave trying to think of what he could do to help.

"I need to get out there, Dave."

"I know. Have a sleep and I'll book us a flight." He held his friend around the waist and helped him up the stairs to his bed. Dave helped him undress and Aaron lay back on the bed.

"I can't believe this is happening, Dave." He said, tears running down the side of his face onto the sheets. "Where is my Jacky?"

"We'll find him, Aaron." he said, covering him over. "You sleep, I'll make some calls."

Dave went down stairs and called Erin Strauss. He explained what had happened, and requested that the team be used to find whoever had done this. She agreed, although normally, the team were supposed to step down if it was a family member or close friend. Next Dave called JJ and gave her all the information.

"Hotch and I are taking a commercial flight. If you could brief the team and meet us out there, it would be good." He said. He gave her the name and number of the cop in charge, and hung up. Next he called and booked a flight for eight thirty in the morning, and set his blackberry to ring at six thirty. He took off his jacket, trousers and shirt and laid down on the couch. There was a throw and a cushion available and he made himself comfortable. He lay awake for a long time, wondering how he would handle it if something happened to any of his ex wives. He would be sad, yes but not grief stricken. But he didn't have children. He had no idea how it would feel to lose a child. The next thing he knew, his alarm was ringing and he could smell coffee.

He quickly pulled on his clothes and went to the kitchen. "Our flight is in two hours." He said to Aaron, who was making coffee. He had put cereal on the table, and iced milk.

"I can't cook, so no eggs I'm afraid." Hotch gave him a shaky smile. "I was thinking, if someone took Jacky out of the car before the fire, and took him away, maybe it was Jack they wanted."

"That's a possibility. We'll get more information when we get there."

Hotch poured the coffee and leaning on his crutches, placed one either side of the table. Dave sat down and poured 'Sugar Stars' into a bowl and drowned them in milk. Aaron sipped his coffee, and settled opposite him.

"I still loved Haley, you know." He said.

"I know."

"I knew there was little or no chance of her coming home to me, but there was always hope. Now someone has killed her.......Killed her Dave! Who would want to kill her? Unless it was just to get Jack. But he could have died in the crash too. No there is something else going on here. If they wanted Jack there are easier ways of doing it."

"Whoever it was, Aaron, killing Haley was the prime thing. Getting Jack was a bonus."

"They could sell him, Dave." He grabbed his crutches and went to the door. "Come on, Dave. We don't have time."

"We're ok, Aaron." He said. "We can have a shower and still be there in loads of time. We have an hour and a half."

"Ok. Sorry, I'm panicking. I'm glad you are here."

-0-0-0-

The following morning, the remaining four field agents were on the plane high above the earth as America was bathed in the dawn light. JJ was briefing them on what she had managed to find out.

"Yesterday evening as you already know, Haley Hotchner was killed in a car accident." She said. "What I have found out since then is that Haley's brakes had been tampered with. When the car hit the tree, she was trapped by the legs. Someone poured accelerant into the car and set it alight." She paused while the information sunk in. "Hotch's child, Jack, was probably in the car. A little blood was found in his car seat, but there was no body. We think he was taken by whoever torched the car with Haley in it."

Morgan stared in horror at the pictures that JJ was distributing. "This is a difficult to read UnSub." He said.

"It seems," Reid said, "Haley was the target; they had no way of knowing if Jack would survive the crash, or even that he would be in the car."

"We need to check out Haley's recent contacts." Emily said. "There should be something there that will give us a lead."

"We also need to distribute pictures of Jack. A four year old boy isn't easily hidden." Morgan said.

"This UnSub is particularly nasty. I should imagine he thought he would get away with it and the police would put it down to an accident."

"That is assuming he cares what the police think."

"We can't really say any more until we meet up with the others and get all the information. We need to tread carefully though. Strauss has given the go ahead for us to be working the case. But she could just as easily pull us off." JJ said.

"Let's study our notes and be ready. This case will have a huge impact on the team, however it turns out." Morgan said. "I for one am going to have a rest until we land. It may be a while before we can rest again."

"Good idea." Reid said, settling himself down for an hour's sleep.

Emily sat with JJ and spread the crime scene pictures over the table. "This is monstrous." She said. "Who on earth could do this to someone?"

"We don't really know much about Haley though, do we." JJ said. "She could have got herself mixed up in something.........drugs, gambling, who knows?"

"Oh god. Poor Hotch. As if he hasn't gone through enough. Now his child is missing!"

"He has only barely recovered from what Mason Lowe did to him. He's still on crutches. And now this."

"I'm glad we are on the case for him. He's going to need us." Emily said.

-0-0-0-

_Well, Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Now you know the devastation of losing someone close, just like me. You killed my family and devastated me. Now it is your turn. And little by little, I will strip you of everything you love and cherish until there is just you left. And then the real fun will begin!_


	3. Crime Scene

**A/N – a bit shorter this time I'm afraid. I'm just SO tired!**

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 3  
Crime Scene

"_**You always hurt the one you love." – words of a song**_

It was a long and anxious flight for Aaron. He kept going over and over it in his mind.

_Who would want to kill Haley? Was she mixed up in something? _

He needed his team and he was glad when Dave told him that Strauss had given the team the go ahead to work the case. They sat on the plane, going through the information in low tones.

"Haley was the target." Dave said. "So do you know anything about her private life since she moved to California?"

"No nothing. The only contact was through her solicitor. Jess will know though. They were very close."

"I think that should be our first stop."

"So did the UnSub want it to look like the fire was from the accident, or will he be looking for credit in tomorrow's papers?"

"If he wants recognition, the best we can do is not give it; make him come out and make a mistake, or make contact."

"If he doesn't, it won't make any difference." Aaron said. "We will brief JJ to tell the media it was an accident."

"We need to trace Jack. Fax his picture to all the first schools in the country." Dave said. "And all the papers must carry his picture."

"We need to notify ports and airports. If he's taken out of the country I'll never see him again." Aaron said, tears for his son welling up again. Dave gave him a tissue.

"We'll get him back, Aaron. If they wanted to hurt him they would have left him in the car. But they didn't, so we can safely assume he's not been hurt."

Aaron nodded briefly and tried to take it on board as a positive thought. He turned to the window and stared out at the new day.

-0-0-0-

Hotch and Dave arrived at the Los Angeles Police Department before the team got there. The car Haley had been driving was in the lab, and they went to see it. The CSI's were working on it when they got there. Haley had been taken out and was in the morgue being examined.

"Can we be certain that there was no child in the car at the time of the fire?" Aaron asked.

"Yes. There is no sign of a second body, but there is a trace of blood, indicating that there was a second person in the car at the time of the actual crash, likely a child, since the trace is on the child's seat in the back of the car."

"How much blood?" Aaron asked quietly.

"Only a small amount, as if he cut himself on flying glass from the windows. But it does tell us that there was probably someone in the back of the car."

Aaron didn't say anything. He was trying not to think of Jack alone with strangers, and hurt.

Dave said, "Are you doing DNA on the blood?"

"Yes, but we will need Agent Hotchner's DNA for comparison to confirm that it is Jack Hotchner's blood."

"I'll go back through the main lab and give a sample." Hotch said. "Do we know what accelerant was used?" he asked.

"It seems that it was ordinary gasoline. There was a full tank, and the car exploded. As you can see there is very little left."

"Thank you." Dave said. "If you find anything else, please let us know."

-0-0-0-

They met the rest of the team when they got back to the department. They briefed JJ on what to tell the press, and hoped it would flush this UnSub into the open. Emily and Dave went to see Jessica while the rest of the team went to Haley's house to see if there was anything to indicate that she was mixed up in something unsavoury. Hotch went with them, although he was nervous about going into Haley's house. She would not let him inside before, and it almost felt like a violation as he followed the rest of the team into the house.

He watched as his team went through her papers and things, and he hated it. He had wanted to go to Jessica's, but Dave had suggested that it wasn't a good idea.

He felt like a waste of space, just standing there watching, but he couldn't bring himself to touch anything. He waited while Morgan checked her computer.

"Any idea what her password would be?" he asked.

"Try Jackhotchner." Aaron answered and the screen came to life.

But there was nothing on there that could account for what had happened. As the team left the house, Aaron hoped that Dave and Emily would have more success.

-0-0-0-

Jessica was swinging from bitter crying to dry eyed shock. Haley had been on the way to her house when the car had crashed, and she kept saying how it was her fault.

"If she hadn't been on the way to mine, she would still be here!" she sobbed. "I can't believe anyone would hurt her like that!"

"It isn't your fault, Jessica." Emily said. "It is the fault of whoever messed with her brakes and threw gasoline into the car."

"You must not blame yourself." Dave added. "The car was going to crash the next time she used it, wherever she was going." He paused. Then, "We need to know about her past activities, Jessica. Was she mixed up in anything dangerous? Was she secretive, more so that usual? You see we are trying to find a motive for this horrible crime, and we can't see one."

"She lived a clean quiet life, Agent Rossi. Since she and Aaron split up, she has been desperate to prove that Jack's life is better now than it used to be. She was careful to the extreme to keep away from anything Aaron could use to get Jack back." She paused. "That makes it sound so awful. I think it was imagination on her part. I can't imagine Aaron doing anything to hurt her. He still loves.....loved her."

Emily stood up and gave Jessica her card. "If there's anything, anything at all, no matter how insignificant, please call me."

"There was one thing." Jessica said. "I don't know if it's relevant though."

"Tell us, please. It could be important."

"She did say she thought she was being followed. She never saw the person; it was more like a feeling than anything else. And one night she thought someone was in her garden."

"That could be very important. When did these things happen?"

"She first mentioned it about a month ago. She called the police, but she said they almost laughed at her and said that a feeling wasn't evidence, and to stop reading crime novels before bed."

"Well thank you Jessica." Emily said. "That could well be the best evidence yet that someone was planning this for a while. If you think of anything else.........."

"I'll let you know." Jessica smiled at Emily, and the two agents left.

-0-0-0-

"So it seems that our UnSub has been watching Haley for a month at least." Dave said when they were together again.

"And we can be fairly certain that she wasn't mixed up in anything that could have led to her murder – drugs, blackmail."

"So where's the motive?" Hotch said. "There has to be one."

"Could it be a stalker?" Emily said. "Sometimes they can turn nasty."

"That is true." Reid said, "But it is usually after getting the brush off from the object of their obsession."

"There's no evidence that anyone approached her. I'm certain after speaking with Jessica that had she been, she would have mentioned it."

"So what do we have?. Our UnSub watched her for at least a month." Said Dave.

"He wanted to kill her but was unwilling to kill a child – or that child at least." Emily added. "That shows he has a weak spot.

"He's especially nasty and has no empathy." Morgan said, "A sociopath by all accounts."

"Wait!" Dave said. "That reminds me of an UnSub we've had before."

"A sociopath? We've had hundreds!" Morgan said.

"Thirty seven, actually."

"No no! The bit about not wanting to hurt a child." Dave said. "Can you remember what happened when Mason Lowe tried to escape by helicopter; he just let Jack go. We didn't have to ask."

"Yes. He just released the rope and took Hotch's body with him, because he had another hostage – me. He didn't need the boy as well. Yet he could have kept him as a hostage." Morgan said. "But Lowe is dead."

"His body was never recovered." Aaron said, suddenly feeling very sick. "Could Lowe have murdered Haley?"

"But why?" asked JJ "What would be the point?"

"He wants to hurt me." Hotch said. "He tried torture and rape, and that didn't work."

"So now he's......"

"Taking the people I love." Hotch blanched. "Excuse me."

He picked up his crutches and made it to the door, but he was too slow. Suddenly he found himself in the corridor on his hands and knees throwing up on the floor. His eyes streamed as he coughed and gagged, as repercussions of what they had discussed reverberated through his head. Images of the burnt out car fixed in his mind, and thoughts of Haley burning to death in the car. When he had finally finished, he was exhausted and in pain. Dave handed him a cloth for his face and a glass of water.

"Please, help me to the men's room, Dave." Aaron said. "God my head hurts"

Dave held out his arm and Aaron pulled himself to his feet. Emily handed him his crutches, and he and Dave went to the men's room. Hotch washed his face and rinsed his mouth, and turned and leaned with his back against the wall.

"You are all in danger, Dave. If he is after hurting me through the people I love, then you are all in danger. Especially you, Spencer and Emily."

"I'll tell them to wear their Kevlar under their clothes, Hotch. But I think we'll be ok. It's you he wants to hurt, not us."

"But I'm still here, and Haley isn't. I think we're right now. It all fits. He is getting to me by hurting the people I care about" He paused, thinking back to that terrifying helicopter ride. "Surly Mason Lowe didn't survive the fall into the sea." Hotch said. "We were so far from land."

"It could be him, but it could be a relative or friend though. It doesn't have to be him."

Dave opened the door for Hotch. "But the fact that he spared Jack says it is him." They went back to the room that had been put aside for them. Hotch looked around at his colleagues. "My apologies." He said to them and gave them a shaky smile.

"Something has happened, Hotch."

"What? Not Jack........."

"No." Reid said. "Someone has torched your house. It's been totally destroyed."

Aaron sat down and looked at Dave. "It's me, isn't it? That just about proves it."

"I've organised Jack's picture to be distributed, and ports and airports are being watched." Morgan said.

"The UnSub is in Quantico." Aaron said. "I think we should be there too."


	4. Loves and Losses

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 4  
Loves and Losses

_**For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and **__**robbery**__** in their palaces.**__**" - Bible quotes**_

The flight back to Quantico seemed to take forever. Usually they slept, either in anticipation of a long case, or in exhaustion at the end of one. But Aaron didn't sleep. Exhausted, yes, but not tired. Still coming to terms with losing Haley and Jack, now he suddenly realised he had no where to go to when they landed. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead in his palm. He looked up and Spencer was sitting opposite him.

"Would you like to spend the night at mine." He said, a little tentatively. "You can stay as long as you need, until you've sorted out what you want to do."

"Thank you, Reid." He said. "That would certainly help me. I'd kind of forgotten my house has burnt down. What with everything else......."

Spencer smiled at him and briefly rested his hand on Hotch's. "Your welcome."

He got up and went back to the bench seat he had been lying on. Hotch lay down sideways on his seat and thought about what he was going to do, how they were going to handle the case when it is so close to his heart. He couldn't sleep, and wondered how he was going to manage to not fall asleep on his feet.

But he did sleep. The next thing he was aware of was Dave gently shaking him awake.

"We're landing, Aaron. Time to strap yourself in." As Hotch sat up and pulled the strap across his hips, Dave added, "You can come back to mine if you like."

"Thanks, Dave but Reid has already asked me."

"Good." He said. "As long as you are ok."

Hotch smiled at his friend. "Thanks."

But they weren't going home tonight. Back at the BAU, they sat around the round table, Hotch and Reid went to see the remains of Hotch's house. To see if there was anything salvageable.

_It's only stuff_, Hotch tried to tell himself as he surveyed the smouldering ruins of his once very nice house. _Only bricks and mortar._

But therein were all his memories of when he was part of a family. When he had a loving wife and an amazing little boy. Those memories were his life line – his connection with a time in his life when he was really happy. A job he loved and gave one hundred per cent, and a family he loved with all his heart to whom he also gave one hundred per cent.

Gone.

Taken by someone who was just out to hurt him by any means possible.

Someone who had his child.

He turned away from the mess and moved slowly back to the car.

"Get me out of here, Spencer." He said softly.

-0-0-0-

A way north of where the two agents were getting into the SUV, a man was on his way home. It had been a long day, and contrary to the rules, he was wearing his uniform home. He had been too shattered to shower at work, and just wanted to strip off and fall into bed. He smelled of food, and he was aware that people were avoiding sitting on the subway seat next to him. He could hardly blame them.

This was dammed hard work. Yes he was learning from the best, but he sometimes wondered if his brother had been right.

No. He would never admit that. Never.

His brother was stubborn, but he had the humility to come and apologise to him. He himself would never have done that.

Was humility a weakness? He thought it probably was, so why was humility so darn difficult? Weakness was usually the road of least resistance. But if he admitted that it wasn't a weakness, it meant that his brother was stronger than he was.

And he wasn't about to admit that either.

Damn him!

He got off the subway in a gaggle of passengers, and made his fragrant way to the turnstile. Putting his ticket in the machine, and retrieving it on the other side, he was not aware of the passengers pushing and shoving their way home. He was only aware of his own battle to get to his bed.

He posted the used ticket in the bin and plugged in his i-pod. Al Green. Nice and mellow soul, to get him calm before he got home. He found that it worked, calmed his heart ready for a good night's sleep.

As Al sang of how tired he was of being alone, he climbed alone up the stairs to his apartment, the irony of it lost on him. Now he was out of the crowds of commuters in the streets, he became vaguely aware that he was being followed. He stopped on the second landing, and listened. The stairs in the old brownstone creaked, but the night was silent.

_Imagining things you wuss!_

He ran up the final flight and slipped the key into the lock. He went in and closed the door behind him. He had just switched on the light when there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" he called.

"I'm your neighbour." came the reply. "A package came for you."

He tried to think if he had been expecting anything. He often ordered stuff off e-bay, but he was sure he had everything he had ordered.

"Hold on!" he said, and unlocked the door again.

The man in the hall didn't look familiar.

"You have a package for me?"

"Sean Hotchner?"

The blond man nodded.

"This is for you."

The man with one eye had a baseball bat, and he swung it at Sean's head. Sean didn't go down but he staggered back into his hallway, arms up to try to protect himself. The man swung the bat again and hit him across the bridge of the nose. He cried out as this time he went down. The man stopped to close the door. Sean looked up and blinked as the bat came down again across his mouth. Sean felt his teeth snap under the assault. The next hit he blocked with his hands and he yelped as fingers broke and the bat crunched across his nose, which was smashed against his face. He fell back dazed and unable to move. Again and again the bat swung, smashing his face and cracking his eye socket. The man didn't stop until Sean was dead, one eye leaking down his face, and brain matter seeping from his ear. The last swipe broke the bat. The one eyed man ground the sharp split wooden end into Sean's stomach and out the other side.

He looked down at his handy work and smiled.

"A dead Hotchner is a good Hotchner!" he smirked, and proceeded to smash up the apartment. "A robbery gone wrong." he said to the congealing mess on the hall floor. He stuck the other end of the broken bat into what had been Sean's mouth. "Sorry I can't stay, Hotchner, but I have a nephew of yours to home!" and he left the apartment.

Al Green sang, "Let's stay together." to no one in particular.

-0-0-0-

Hotch was glad to get back to the BAU. He joined the rest of the team in the conference room.

"Any news?"

"Nothing. Jack hasn't been taken out of the country, we can be almost certain of that." Reid said.

"Almost?"

"Unless he has access to his own plane, but then he would still need to use an airport, and all the smaller landing strips have been alerted."

There are always methods that escape detection." Hotch said. "What about the schools?"

"All alerted. That is more long term though."

"Papers?"

"All the leading nationals are going to carry his picture on the front page. Someone will recognise him." JJ said.

""No one recognised Madeleine McCann and her picture went world wide." Hotch said, the now familiar panicky feeling flooding back over him. He closed his eyes and fought for control. He couldn't fail his little boy now. His Daddy was all he had fighting his corner. He had to come through for him.

He realised Dave was speaking to him.

"We'll find him, Hotch. I promise we won't stop until he's back with you."

"We know who this UnSub is." Emily said. "That has to give us some kind of advantage."

"I've had Garcia run a list of associates, although from what I understand, He works alone." Morgan said. "I'll go and see how that's coming along."

Garcia had one name only. "He used to knock about with his cousins." She said, "But they..... erm..... got killed. The name is Simon Perry, and he has an address."

-0-0-0-

Emily, Morgan, Reid and Rossi went to the address. It was a very quiet little street with a few white painted clapboard houses. A wannabe high end, but not quite managing it. Number six was half way down the street on the right. Morgan and Reid took the back, Emily and Dave went to the front door.

Most people object to being dragged out of bed (metaphorically speaking) in the middle of the night, and Simon Perry was no exception.

"What the crap do you......"

"FBI Emily said, one hand holding up her ID, The other on her gun.

Mr. Perry spun round and ran to the back of the house. Emily and Dave didn't move.

As Perry flew through the back door he found himself looking down the barrel of Reid's gun.

"Mr. Simon Perry?" he said calmly. "We would like to ask you some questions."

-0-0-0-

"When was the last time you spoke to Mason Lowe?"

Perry was in the interrogation room, facing Rossi. Morgan stood by the door looking threatening without having to say anything.

"I'm saying nothing until my lawyer gets here."

"You are not under arrest, Mr. Perry. You are simply helping us with our enquiries. So, I'm sorry, no lawyer. Let's start again, shall we?" Dave smiled at him despite the urge to smack him. "Whe n did you last speak to Mason Lowe?"

Aaron watched through the mirror. This man was their only link. They had to get him to talk.

"Can't remember." Perry said. "He's my mate. I'm not about to rat him out."

"Ok, we can arrest you as an accessory to attempted murder, murder and kidnapping for starters."

Perry was on his feet leaning across the table. "Now wait a goddamned minute!"

Dave leaned back in his seat. Morgan got hold of Perry's shirt and sat him down again.

"Ok.......this is getting boring. Third try. When did you last speak to Mason Lowe?"

Perry looked scared now.

"Three days ago, Monday evening. He called me. Asked if I knew anyone who could mind his nephew for a day or two." He looked across at Rossi. "I don't know nothing about no murder or kidnapping. He said the kid was his nephew! I swear! Honest!"

"Honest? That'd be a first." Morgan mumbled.

_Very nice, Derek!_

"And did you know anyone?"

"My sister Marjorie Haden." He picked up the pencil and wrote an address down, and gave it to Dave.

"As a reward for your cooperation, we are going to allow you to spend the night free of charge in one of our exclusive apartments, and in the morning we'll have another chat about murder and kidnapping" Rossi glanced at Morgan. "Take him away!"

As soon as Perry had been hauled away, Dave took the address to the team.

"Dave and I will take this one." Hotch said. Dave agreed, and the two of them took the lift down to the garage.

"This could be it, Dave. I might be about to get my boy back."

"I hope so, Aaron."

-0-0-0-

It was a little house on a big corner plot in a nice part of town. Marjorie was a lot older than Perry, and came to the door with curlers and a scarf around her head. She was clearly not happy about being woken in the middle of the night, but she didn't try to run away.

"I am Agent Aaron Hotchner of the FBI, this is Agent David Rossi." Aaron said, leaning on the crutches. "We are looking for the child that we think you might be caring for. May we see him please?"

"He no here no more, man. His uncle came for him jus' two hours ago. I'm mighty sorry. He were a good boy."

"His uncle? Can you describe him please?" Aaron said, a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Short guy with a funny eye. You best ask my baby bro Simon. It's his mate."

"Did his uncle say where they were going?" Rossi asked.

"He surely did. Disney Land he say."

"Thank you, Mrs Haden. We will chat with Simon."

"Be sure an' tell him I sendin' you!" she called after them.

Hotch threw his crutches in the back of the car. "Our last lead. Dead."

"Not necessarily, Aaron. We know he's close. He was here only two hours ago." He looked at Hotch's tear filled eyes. "Shall I take you home? You really shouldn't be working this case."

"No. I won't abandon Jack." Hotch said. "Let's get back. I want to talk to Perry. He must know something."

Rossi nodded and started the car.


	5. Text Messages

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 5  
Text Messages

_**If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things. - **__**Rene Descartes**_

Hotch was bitterly disappointed. He thought he was going to find Jack, and Lowe had beaten him once again. This psychological beating was hurting more than the physical beating he had suffered in his hands. He was finding it difficult to think.

All he wanted was for Lowe to make contact, open up some kind of dialogue; just give him a chance to get closer to him.

He stared at Perry.

"So where was he going to take the child?" Hotch asked, trying, and only just succeeding in keeping his voice free from trembling.

"I have no idea!" Perry said. "I don't want this. Don't you think I'd tell you if I knew?"

"We can add human trafficking to the list. A serious Federal crime. Get you ten to fifteen."

"Please......I really don't know."

Perry looked close to breaking point.

"We are looking for.............."

Before Hotch could finish, someone knocked on the door.

"Agent Hotchner, there is someone to see you. They said it is urgent."

"Don't go away, Mr Perry. We will continue our little chat later." Hotch smiled at the cowering man. "Interview suspended ten forty three am." If there was anything to get, they were close to getting it. Hotch picked up his crutches and left the room.

"What is it?" Dave came and stood by him. "This is something bad, isn't it?" Hotch said.

"I am afraid so, Agent." The police officer said. "It's your brother Sean. I am afraid he has been killed."

Aaron swayed on his crutches. Dave caught his elbow and stopped him from falling.

"How?......When?"

"It seems he was followed home last night, and killed in his apartment. He was found this morning when he didn't turn up for work."

"Oh god! Sean!" Aaron thought he was about to fall. "Help me to sit down, Dave."

Dave led him to a seat in a nearby office. He sat and leaned forwards, his face in his hands. "Oh Sean. I am so sorry." He looked up at Dave. "I should have warned him. This is my fault again!"

"It is not your fault, Aaron." Dave said. "And he wouldn't have listened."

Aaron nodded slowly. What Dave said was true, but He wondered how he was going to get through the rest of his life knowing he was responsible for the deaths of all the people he cared most about.

"Do you have the crime scene photos?"

"Agent Hotchner, I do not think you want to see them."

"I'll decide what I need to see!" Hotch said. Please, the photos." He reached out his open hand for them. "Please."

The pictures were put in his hand. They were in an envelope, and Hotch tipped them out onto the table in front of him.

"Oh my good god!" he breathed, suddenly the blood ran from his face. He pushed them away and curled forwards with his hands behind his head and started to cry. Dave knelt in front of him.

"I am going to get Reid to take you home, Aaron. You can't stay on the case. This is way too personal. I'll get Reid now."

He glanced at the cop. "Stay with him, I'll just be a moment."

The cop nodded and Rossi went to find Reid.

-0-0-0-

Reid had gone home already. His go bag was out of date and he needed a clean shirt. He drove quickly through the streets to his apartment block and parked in his usual place. He decided to take the lift. Weeks before he had made a promise to himself to always take the stairs, an easy way to keep in training. But that little resolution had fallen by the wayside, especially when he was tired, like now.

He locked his car, and walked to the lift. He pressed the call button, and waited. The lift car was at the top floor, and he realised if he had taken the stairs, he could have been up to his apartment and down again in the time it took for the lift to get to the basement.

But that wasn't the only reason he should have taken the stairs. He was about to have a far more compelling reason.

The doors slid open and he stepped inside. Just as the doors began to close, another man stepped in beside him. As the car began to move, he felt the cold steel of a gun barrel against the back of his neck. The man stopped the car.

"I suggest that you don't move." A familiar voice said, as a hand removed his gun from his belt. "I don't want to kill you. Not yet anyway."

"Lowe! Why are you doing this to Agent Hotchner?"

"I wouldn't worry about him, Spence. You are the one with a gun to your neck, not him."

Reid began to turn to face Lowe, but a hand pushed him violently against the metal wall of the car, knocking the wind out of him

"We know what you are doing, Lowe," he gasped, "And just so you know, hurting me will not upset Hotchner unduly. He isn't interested in me."

"Ha! Don't give me that. I know that you are lovers. You even had some things for him sent to your apartment. He's even living with you now. So pretty boy, you will suffer for screwing around with that bastard."

"We aren't lov......." Lowe shut him up neatly with a pistol whip to the side of the head, and Reid slumped to the floor of the car. Lowe took Reid's phone from his bag and took a photograph of the fallen agent. Then he found Hotch's cell number, and sent the photo of Reid to Hotch's phone. Then he sent the lift back down to the basement, where he had a car waiting.

-0-0-0-

While Hotch sat and waited for Dave to come back, his cell buzzed. He reached into his pocket and checked the sender's ID.

Reid.

Dave came back into the room. "I can't find Reid." He said.

"It's ok, Dave. I've just had a message from him. He's probably caught up somewhere." He said. "Let's see where."

He opened the message and stared at the screen. He began to shake and the phone dropped from his hands onto the floor. He made a moaning sound as he knocked off his glasses and pressed his face with his trembling hands. Dave bent down and retrieved the phone. As he searched for the message, he dismissed the cop.

"I'll deal with this, thank you." He said, and opened the picture. He said nothing as he took in the image on the screen.

"I think you need to stay here, Hotch. We are going to need all of us to get through this."

-0-0-0-

Lowe dragged Reid out of the lift and across to his car; well strictly speaking it wasn't his car. He had stolen it three days before, and spent some time getting it ready for this new project – changing the licence plates, welding attachments for hand cuffs and other customisations to suit his very particular purpose.

He opened the boot and lifted Reid into it. He put on his dark glasses, and calmly drove out of the car park, waving to the cameras as he went.

This was so much fun.

He drove with care, anxious not to attract any attention. He had found a warehouse outside town where he had readied some exciting scenarios to take some interesting photographs for Agent Aaron Hotchner. Then he would wait until the very end to kill Spencer, when he had the right audience.

He pulled into the warehouse and stopped the car. He got out and pulled down the shutters on the doors, and then turned on the floodlighting. There was still no sound coming from the boot so he opened it to check on him. Reid was still unconscious in the boot well. Lowe smacked him across the face, and Reid blinked his eyes in the harsh white light.

"You are wasting your time, Lowe. Hotchner isn't interested in me." He said softly.

"Shall we wait and see before we jump to any conclusions, Doctor Reid." Lowe answered. "Now get out."

Reid climbed out of the boot of the car and stood swaying slightly in front of his captor.

"The first thing we are going to do is give you a little ride around the warehouse, filming it for posterity." he said. "I'm sure Hotchner will enjoy this. And let's hope we only need one take. Any more and it might just be all the fun we will have!"

He cuffed Reid to the door pillar of the car, and wrapped rope around Reid's fingers, pulling it tight.

"What are you going to do?" Reid asked, suddenly afraid.

"A touch of the wild west, Doctor Reid.

He took the ends of the rope and attached them to a set of handcuffs welded to the rear bumper. Reid thought he was going to be sick. His fingers were turning blue at the tips which he could see past the ends of the rope bindings. Lowe set up a video recorder which was on a pillar of the warehouse and pressed record. Then he got in the driving seat of the car. He started the engine and leaned over and undid the cuff holding Reid to the door. Then he drove.

At first he moved slowly, driving round the edge of the vast room. Reid ran behind the car, desperate to keep up. His breaths came in short sharp gasps as he waited for the car to speed up, and he would be pulled off his feet.

"Please don't do this!" he called to Lowe. "Hotch will not react to this. I am not his......."

That was when the car sped up. Reid tried to get hold of the rope to stop the pulling on his fingers, but they were bound too tightly and he couldn't bend them. He was jerked off his feet and right away he felt the crack as his fingers dislocated. He screamed as the car rounded the edge of the room , and he swung out and hit the wall. The wind was knocked out of him as he was dragged along behind the car. The rough concrete floor acted like sand paper on his face, and when the car skidded round the opposite end of the room, he hit the wall again. His right shoulder took the brunt, and as his collar bone cracked he lost consciousness again. The car stopped.

Lowe left him lying on the ground, and went to check the camera. He played back the film, and was delighted with the result.

"Hey, Doc!" he called. "Hotch will love this!"

He went to the fallen agent and unwound the rope from his fingers. They were twisted and bent, and obviously all broken. His shoulder was dislocated also, and his face was covered with blood and dirt. He took some close up pictures on Reid's phone of his face and hands, and one of his whole body lying on the floor. Then he downloaded some of the video onto the phone.

"Well, Hotchner, enjoy the show."

He pressed 'send'.

-0-0-0-

Hotch sat silent and shaking at the table in the conference room. Dave was running the show. He gave everyone a copy of the picture that had been sent to Aaron's phone.

"Does anyone recognise where this was taken?" Rossi asked.

"It looks like the lift at Reid's apartment." Morgan said, getting up. "I'll get over there and seal it off."

"I'll call the CSU." JJ said. She left her seat and went outside to make the call.

"There are security tapes in the car park." Garcia said. "I'll go with Morgan and get them. There might be some images to give us a clue."

Morgan and Garcia left.

"I'll have a go at Perry." Emily said. "He might just respond to a woman."

"Good idea." Dave said. As Emily left the room, Rossi turned to Aaron.

"We're going to get this monster, Aaron. Make no mistake."

Aaron's phone beeped.

Another message,


	6. Fight for Sanity

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 6  
Fight for Sanity

"_**You win again." – The Beegees**_

Rossi took the phone from Aaron's hand when he saw that he was afraid to open the message. Aaron didn't resist. He took off his glasses and pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes.

"I'm losing it, Dave."

Dave rested a hand on Aaron's shoulder as he opened the message.

"I need to see it." Aaron said, and Dave handed him the phone. Aaron watched the clip and then the three shots of Reid, and gave the phone back to Dave.

"Give it to Garcia, see if she can get anything from the video." he said in a shaky voice. "There might be some clues as to where this was shot." His hands were shaking so much that he dropped the phone. Dave picked it up without a word and left the room with it.

_This UnSub is trying to break me, and is succeeding................_

The images of Spencer being dragged around by his fingers behind the car played over and over in Aaron's mind. He couldn't cry – the shock was making his heart beat too quickly, and he wanted to be sick, but he couldn't cry. He thought of the agony Reid was going through in the hands of Lowe. Was he going to kill him? Had he done so already?

Dave came back and handed him the phone.

"Garcia has the images now." He said. "This could well be his mistake."

"I hope so." Aaron said softly. "I need the men's room."

He put on his glasses, and got up, leaning on his crutches he made his way out of the conference room to the men's room. Dave went to watch Emily interview Perry. He guessed Hotch needed to be alone.

-0-0-0-

He did need to be alone. He locked himself in a stall and dropped his crutches on the floor, and knelt over the toilet. He vomited until his stomach was empty, and then he vomited nothing. His throat was burning with acids as he vomited blood. His stomach felt as if a knife was twisting in it, and now he found the tears. The pain was excruciating, and he gripped the sides of the pan with white shaking hands. When at last he had finished, he collapsed on the floor and lay on his side and cried. An overwhelming grief for Haley and Jack and Sean and now Reid.

"I can't take any more........I can't do this!" he whispered to himself. "Why can't he just take me and leave them? Why?.........."

Someone knocked on the door.

"Aaron?"

It was Dave. Good loyal understanding Dave.

Hotch hauled himself to his feet and unlocked the door.

"I apologise, Dave." He said. "I needed to do that."

Dave saw he had blood on his lips.

"Here." He said, handing him a towel. Hotch took it to the wash basins and washed his face and hands, and wiped the blood and tears from his face. He turned to look at Dave.

"I'm fine now, Dave. Don't look so worried."

"I am going to take you home to my house, Aaron." He said.

"But I........."

Rossi raised his hand. "Not permanently. Just for the rest of the day,"

Hotch nodded. He knew he wasn't helping the investigation, just now he was giving the team an extra pressure that they could do without. Drawing in a shuddering breath, he took out his phone.

"I'll have any messages forwarded to you." He said, pressing some buttons. "I think I need to sleep"

"Come on. I think you do." Dave said. "I'll drive you."

-0-0-0-

_Lowe was watching Rossi's house. He had to come home sometime, and he was happy to sit for a day or two waiting in the empty summer house overlooking the steps to his front door. He had had a few false alarms, when black SUV's had pulled up outside, but then a lot of Quantico residents were Feds and drove SUV's. What he didn't expect was Dave to be driving his own car. And when the classic 1965 Galaxie pulled up, he almost missed it._

-0-0-0-

Dave pulled up outside his house, and turned to Hotch. "Are you going to be ok, Aaron?"

"I just need to sleep. Thank you."

"Feel free to sleep in my bed, won't you."

Hotch didn't reply, he managed a shaky smile, and Rossi got out and went round the car to help Aaron out of the car. He handed him his crutches, and took his elbow.

As the two men walked towards Dave's gate, Lowe opened fire.

One second of fire, and Dave fell forward onto the pavement.

"Dave!" Aaron knelt at his side and turned him onto his back. His eyes were closed, and blood ran in a thin red stream from the corner of his mouth.

Hotch took out his phone and called 911. Dave's eyes flickered open.

"Get under.....cover Aaron........." and his eyes rolled upwards and closed.

"No! Dave! No! Wake up!" Aaron pulled his limp body against his chest and felt the blood on his back.

The Bastard shot him in the back on his own door step!

"Stay with me Dave. Don't you go anywhere!" he said gently rocking him.

But Dave was unconscious. Hotch gently laid him down on the grass, and stood up, facing the gunman. He held his arms out palms up, and with tears streaming down his cheeks, he faced the UnSub.

"Why don't you just kill me?" he shouted. "Just take me and leave these others alone! If you want me, here I am." He took a step towards Lowe. "Come on you bloody coward!" he cried. "Here I am!"

Lowe watched from his hiding place and smirked. Oh no. It wasn't that time yet. Not yet. While Hotch called to him from across the road, he dismantled the gun and put it in the sports bag he was carrying, and ducked under the hedge that grew around the empty house.

Hotch fell to his knees, his hands forward now.

"Please......." he whispered. "Here I am....." and he curled forwards and cried.

-0-0-0-

When Lowe got back to the warehouse, he went to check on his prisoner. He thought he might have gone too far with the drag behind the car because he couldn't wake him up. So he left him in the metal crate with some straw in the bottom while he went out to kill David Rossi. And what a bonus! Killing him in front of Hotchner. He couldn't have asked for a better scenario. All that drama from the so called Unit Chief. By the looks of it, not for much longer. Such a weak man.

He looked through the barred lid of the crate, and thought of what he was going to do with him next. A real treat this one, although he might just die.

Still, that didn't really matter now. Hotchner was all but finished now. An easy kill.

He opened the crate and pulled Spencer out. He was awake now and Lowe ordered him to stand. Silently, Reid staggered to his feet and Lowe looked at his captive. Reid held his trembling broken hands in front of his chest. His clothes were in rags, torn and bloody, and the right side of his face had been skinned, blood in his hair and on his clothes.

"Lay down."

Too weak to disobey, Reid laid down on the floor. Lowe pulled his arms outwards and from the corner of the room, he collected a tool box. He switched on the video camera. Reid's eyes widened in fright as Lowe took an electric drill from the box. Ignoring Reid completely, He fitted a three millimetre drill bit and rested it against Reid's wrist. Reid whimpered in fear and looked at Lowe with huge hazel eyes. The only thing that kept his sanity was the fact that he was getting this treatment instead of Aaron. And just as he was prepared to die in his place, so he was prepared to live in his place also. The drill slid easily through the soft flesh of his wrists and into the concrete beneath.

Spencer screamed. He couldn't help it. He felt grit and dirt pull back through the wound as Lowe removed the drill. He took from the tool box a ten inch metal stake and a hammer, and hammered the stake through Reid's wrist into the concrete below.

"Perfect!" he smiled. He went around to the other arm and pulled it our straight. And rested the end of the drill bit against the white wrist.

"Please don't.......please." Spencer begged. But Lowe lacked any feelings of mercy. This was to hurt Hotchner. Reid as collateral.

He drilled through the wrist and into the concrete again to Reid's screams. The metal stake went in next. Reid moaned softly as the stake slid through his wrist into the floor.

Lowe removed Reid's shoes and socks and pulled apart his legs. Again the drill, this time through the flesh at the back of his ankles. Reid was out of breath and his throat hurt and the pain made it hard to stay conscious. He wanted to pass out, be out of this agony and terror, but his body kept awake.

Lowe found it harder to get the stakes through this time, Reid kept jerking his legs out of the way and bending his knees.

"Stop moving!" yelled Lowe.

"C-cant help it...." stammered Reid.

Lowe put the drill against Reid's kneecap. "Stop moving!"

Reid shook uncontrolably as Lowe held his leg still. He moaned as the stake twisted through the hole in his ankle, and was effectively fastened to the floor. He lay there completely helpless, spread eagled and unable to move. A pool of blood was collecting at the end of each limb.

Lowe ripped his clothes apart, neck to groin. He put the drill and the hammer away, and took a Stanley knife from the tool box. He extended the knife a centimetre, and starting at the top of his breast bone, he cut into Reid's flesh, straight down to his groin.

Reid cried out as blood welled up and ran in streams down the sides of his body.

Lowe smiled at the camera, and held a small transparent pot up so that Hotchner would see what he was going to do.

"Soldier ants." was all he said, and removed the lid and tipped them onto Reid's naked bleeding body.

-0-0-0-

Morgan stood with Hotch by the gate to Rossi's house. When Hotch's phone buzzed, he was afraid. He looked at it for a few seconds, and handed it to Morgan. Morgan opened the message and watched the video.

"It's Reid, isn't it?" Hotch said. Morgan nodded and passed the phone to Hotch. He found it difficult to take in what he was seeing.

"Oh my good god." He said, and sank to the ground. "Why didn't he just shoot me? Why Reid? Why?"

Morgan sat down next to him.

"He is trying to break you, Hotch. Don't let him. You can't help Reid or Dave or Jack if you are broken."

Hotch looked at Morgan. "Help me?"

"I'll take you back to the BAU. I think Garcia might have something."

Aaron nodded, and Morgan helped him back to the SUV he had driven. He had put Rossi's Galaxie into his garage.

Rossi had taken four bullets in the back but had been wearing his Kevlar. Two of the bullets had penetrated, and he was badly hurt. But the Kevlar had saved his life for now. The ambulance crew had just driven away with him fighting for his life in the back. Morgan pulled away with Hotch in the SUV, and drove back to the BAU. As they pulled into the underground garage, Aaron spoke for the first time.

"I will join you later, Morgan. There is something I need to do first."

"Ok, we'll wait for you."

Morgan went to the stairs, leaving Hotch standing alone in the car park. Once Morgan was out of sight, Hotch went to the lift. He took the car to his floor, but he didn't go to the conference room, he went to the men's room. He dropped his crutches, and sat in the corner on the floor. He took a note book out of his pocket and wrote in it. Then he got out his keys. He suddenly felt relaxed and happy. He was going to do what he should have done days ago.

On his key ring was a small penknife. Small yes, but sharp, and adequate for its most important job to date.

Holding the knife with his left hand, he sliced open his right wrist. He watched the blood for a second, amazed at the speed at which it flowed. Then he tried to pick up the knife with his right hand, but he was too weak. His frustration made him cry as he struggled to do what Lowe wanted all along.

"You win, Mason Lowe.........you win......." he said softly, and rested his head tiredly against the tiled wall.


	7. The Solution

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 7  
The Solution

"_**You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be." - Chuck Palahniuk **_

Morgan sat in the conference room waiting for Hotch and looked at the worried faces opposite him.

"I'm going to look for him." Morgan said, suddenly he had a nasty feeling about the something Hotch needed to do. He left the room quickly but it wasn't until he was out of the room that he broke into a run.

_If you're doing what I think you're doing..........well, just don't be!_

He went straight to the men's room and opened the door. He half expected what he saw, and he prayed that he wasn't too late.

Hotch was sitting in the corner of the room. He was slumped forwards so that his chin was against his chest. The knife was still in his left hand, his right wrist pumping his life blood into the thick red pool he was sitting in.

Morgan ran to his side, and took his cut wrist in his hand, pressing the wound together, stopping the flow of blood. With the other hand he lifted Hotch's face. His eyes were open, staring and unresponsive

"Hotch, what are you doing? This isn't the answer!" He leaned his head back and listened for a heart beat. There was one, sluggish and intermittent. He got out his cell and called 911, then he laid Hotch down on the floor, holding his wrist high. His breathing was slow and irregular.

"Hotch, can you hear me?"

Aaron tried to focus his eyes and failed.

"Leave .......me." he breathed. "Only answer......"

Morgan rested Hotch's head on his lap and brushed his hair off his damp white skin.

"It isn't the answer, Hotch." He said. "It never is."

"What he...... wants."

"No Hotch, we need you." Morgan cradled him in his arms, spoke softly to him. "Don't let him win, don't do what he wants!"

"Did it....for Spencer."

Hotch's eyes rolled upwards and he passed out. Morgan felt tears prick the back of his eyes as he tried to imagine what Hotch was going through to drive him over the edge. He held him tight and wished for the emergency team to arrive quickly.

-0-0-0-

Reid was left alone in the dark cold warehouse. The pain in his wrists and ankles had turned into a dull throbbing, as long as he didn't move, but movement shot pain through him and he thought he would faint. The creatures that had been tipped onto him were biting and stinging him, around the cut that Lowe had sliced down his abdomen. Some of the ants were exploring his face and were crawling around the bloody scab that was forming on the side of his face. He wanted to open his mouth and scream but the thought of one of these ants getting in his mouth appalled him. They stung his eyelids and bit at the scabs on his lips. He moaned and whimpered and shook his head to get them off him but they came back.

And now they were on his broken bloody hands and he yelped as he tried to shake them off and the agony of the wounds he had reverberated across his chest to his heart. The trembling in his body grew to a shaking and the stakes holding him down pulled and tore at his flesh and fresh blood flowed and the ants were running up and down his bleeding torso gathering nutrients and preparing his body to become a new food source.

Spencer thought of Hotch, the man he loved above everything. He could go through this for him, instead of him. He prayed that Aaron would not ever find out what he was having to go through.

-0-0-0-

The paramedics were fighting to resuscitate Aaron on the floor of the men's room. His blood was smeared across the floor and scarlet blood painted an arc across the ceiling. Morgan stood in the corner of the room with Garcia, Emily and JJ watching them working on him – pumping his chest with rib cracking ferocity, blowing into his lungs, watching his chest rise and fall under the false breathing of the medic at his head. Blood on the floor formed a clotted pool that moved with each chest compression. It didn't look good.

"Come on Aaron, please live....." Emily said. JJ took her hand. She had never been as close to Hotch as Emily, but to her he was a valued and loved colleague.

Still fighting to restore life, his body was lifted onto a gurney and rushed out of the room. They ran to the lift with him as the rest of the team watched helplessly.

"He can't die." Morgan said. "Lowe cannot be allowed to win." He looked at the tear stained faces of the women. "He said he was doing it for Reid."

He opened Hotch's note book and showed it to them. It was a suicide note. They'd both seen many in their lives, but this one was more poignant, and tore at their heart more than any other they'd read.

'_I do this for Spencer Reid,'_ it read, _'so that at my death any further torture of my friend will stop. I do it for my colleagues so that they won't be in any more danger. I do it so that Lowe will release my Jacky and he can live with Jess. I am so sorry, Sean and Dave, that I didn't do this earlier, and to anyone that my actions might pain, please forgive me, and see the greater good. Aaron Hotchner.'_

"I didn't know." Emily sobbed. "Why didn't he tell us?"

"What would we have done? Tried to talk him out of it?" Morgan said. "He didn't want to be talked out of it."

"We could have faked it." JJ said.

"If he makes it, we may yet be able to do that."

"I'll travel with him." Emily said, "And I'll get news on Rossi and call you."

Without waiting for an ok, she ran to the door of the stairs and raced down to the ground floor where they were loading Hotch into the ambulance.

"I would like to travel with him." Emily said, and she got in and sat by him as the battle for his life continued.

-0-0-0-

Dave was out of danger, but still unconscious. Although the Kevlar had slowed the bullets, one had lodged very close to his spine, and the doctors were still unable to predict whether he would be partially paralysed or not. He slept on in blissful ignorance.

Emily paced the floor outside resus and watched through the window as paddles were applied to Aaron's chest. She had lost count of the number of times she had watched this – people she loved and cared for on the very edge of life. She watched as Hotch's body jerked under the paddles, and again and again, and she watched as the monitor showed at last that he had been brought back. Only then did she turn away from the window.

They inserted an IV into Aaron's left wrist and began dextran volume expander. He had lost a huge amount of blood and needed volume urgently before he went into circulatory collapse. He wasn't breathing, and the trachea tube was doing the work for him. His right wrist was stitched, but with so deep a cut, and severed tendons, it was doubtful that even if he should survive, he would get full use back in his hand again. As soon as he was stable, he was wheeled out of resus and to the lift to the wards. Emily followed.

"Is he going to be alright?" she asked.

"He's stable at the moment," she was told, "But we will need to monitor him closely. He very nearly succeeded in killing himself. He is very ill."

"I need to ask about another friend, a Mr David Rossi, Federal Agent.

"Oh yes, he came in recently – gunshot wounds to the back. Well he is in the same ward where your friend is going, so you will be able to ask then."

She stood in the corner of the lift, and watched the rise and fall of Aaron's chest as the machine breathed for him.

-0-0-0-

Spencer had passed out. He was in a lot of pain, but it was the shock of what was happening to him that finaly sent him under. When Lowe came back from watching Hotchner being taken into the hospital he was not pleased. He had plans for Hotchner's death and he didn't want to be robbed of the pleasure of killing him. Now he was in hospital it was going to be that much harder to get to him. When he saw Reid unconscious also he lost his temper.

He washed the ants off Reid's body with water and pulled him off the floor a limb at a time, pulling the stakes through his flesh.

"This is |Hotchner's fault!" he shouted at Spencer. "I was going to just leave you to die."

He dragged the battered bleeding body across the floor and sat him on a chair against a wall. Using plastic ties, he secured him to the chair and then woke him up by throwing water on him. Reid woke with a start, and began shivering as the icy water dripped off his hair and clothes. His skin was dotted with red where he had been bitten by the soldier fire ants, and the venom was making him dizzy. His hands were fastened to the arms of the chair, and his feet to the legs. His fingers were starting to turn black as the blood failed to reach them, and the broken bones blocked capilliaries.

"Why do you hate Hotch so much?" he whispered. "He has never hurt you."

"My cousins were murdered because of him." Lowe snarled. "And it was his kind that did this to me." He pointed to his eye. "Now he must know what it's like to lose everyone he loves, and do you know what the coward did?"

Reid shook his head.

"He tried to off himself. Bloody weakling fag!"

Reid tried to hide his shock. Hotch tried to commit suicide? Why? To free him?

"Is he........did he succeed?" Reid asked, not sure if he really wanted to know if he did, but had to know if he didn't.

"I don't know yet." Lowe said. "But if he didn't, you will see him very soon. I have plans for him. Now I have killed Sean Hotchner and Agent David Rossi, All he has left is you."

"You killed Dave?"

"Easy he was. Mowed him down in a hail of bullets while he was helping Hotchner to walk. He should have been wearing his Kevlar I think!"

"Please, don't hurt Hotch any more. You have taken everything he loves, driven him to suicide. Please don't touch him again. Just leave him. You have destroyed him already."

Reid couldn't imagine the grief that would drive Hotch to do what he had done.

"Not quite finished with him yet. He needs to see you die, or offer to die instead. Either way there will be nothing left of him when I have finished."

Lowe went back to the corner where the tool box was sitting, and brought back a length of twisted wire into which had been woven pieces of glass. Carefully, without cutting himself, he twisted the wire into a loop and dropped it over Reid's head. He tightened it so that the glass just pricked at Reid's skin, causing tiny trickles of blood to flow. He pulled the wire up so that Reid had to sit high in the chair to avoid being torn. Then the other end, Lowe secured around a hook in the wall.

Spencer couldn't move. The slightest shiver and the glass tore at his neck.

"Now to go and see Hotchner, and bring him home to you, lover-boy."

Lowe took a photograph of Reid, and a close up of his neck, and pressed 'send', then he turned to go.

"Please," Spencer said softly, "Please don't hurt Hotch."


	8. Meeting

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 8  
Meeting

'_**Time for the taking. Turn it into something more than just time to kill.' Midge Ure (Time to Kill – U-Vox)**_

Morgan was in Garcia's bunker looking through what she had managed to get from the grainy videos that were sent to Hotch's camera. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her breaths came in shuddering gasps, but for all that she was on top of her work, and analysed the images down to the last pixel.

But even so there was not much to find.

"Without having a possible area to look into," she said, "It is almost impossible to tell you where this is. What I can tell you is that it is a large warehouse – you probably got that already – which has not been used for food storage."

"How do you know?" Morgan said, fascinated despite himself.

"Food storage places need special flooring. These floors are concrete – porous, unsuitable for food staorage areas."

At that moment, Rossi's phone vibrated in Morgan's pocket. He brought up the images – two stills this time – of Reid sitting on the chair with the wire garrotte around his neck. He gave the phone to Garcia.

"There might be some more clues on here." he said. "I am so sorry you are having to look at these."

"I'll look at anything, Hunny-Babe, if it will bring my friends home." She said, blotting her eyes with a tissue.

He squeezed her shoulder. "Can you make a list of all the warehouses within ten kilometres, that has the floor area, and has not been used for food."

"That will be a long list." she said. "But I'm on it."

-0-0-0-

Ideally she had wanted a baby boy, but when her contact showed her the picture of the tousle haired four year old, she had fallen in love with him. The cost was more money than she would see in the rest of her working life, five hundred thousand dollars, but to have a child to love and who would love her, it would be worth it.

She couldn't have babies of her own – cancer had put paid to that dream. But her contact whom she knew only as Mr. M had promised her the best. This little lad was a car crash orphan, and needed a good home straight away, by-passing the adoption system. His name was James, shortened to Jake, and it was love at first sight. For her at least. The child had not stopped crying for the two days she had him, and she was at her wit's end. No health worker to call, otherwise suspicion might fall on her. She had to cope.

"Shut the hell up!" she yelled at the child again. He looked at her with huge eyes and a quivering lip, and then he started to cry again.

"I want D-daddy!" he cried. "M-my D-daddy is s-strong and B-brave." He scrunched his eyes up and pressed little fists into them. She felt suddenly guilty for shouting.

"Sorry, Jakey." She said trying to hug him. "I didn't mean to shout."

"No!" he cried, stiffening in her arms, refusing to return the embrace. "I w-want M-mummy and my D-daddy."

"Damn you you brat!" she shouted, on the verge of tears herself. "Stay in your room then!" and she slammed the door on the distressed little boy.

-0-0-0-

Emily divided her time between Hotch and Rossi. The doctors had told her that it would be a while before Hotch woke up, but she sat with him and read to him, hoping that he could hear her. The soft hiss of the respirator was soporific, and she had to go for a walk and get some coffee. The nearest machine was on the floor below. She bought one and stood by the machine and drank it. Then she bought another to take back with her. She decided to call in on Rossi on the way past.

When she stepped out of the lift, it was pandemonium on the ward. She could hear a shrill alarm, and a group of people were standing outside Aaron's room. She dropped her coffee in a bin and ran to the group.

"What's happening? Is Agent Hotchner ok?"

"He's gone."

"Gone? How can he be gone?" she said. "He's unconscious, and can't walk anyway!"

"The alarm sounded, and we thought it was a crash call, but when we got here the bed was empty."

Emily looked into the room in shocked confusion.

-0-0-0-

It had been easy to get into the hospital. Just put on a white coat and people straight away think you are a doctor. Saunter confidently up to Intensive Care, straight past the nurses, act as if you own the place – pompous arses these doctors are – and just walk into the ward.

And there he was, all drips and tubes and monitors. Quickly he detached the ventilator from the trachea tube, and pulled the heart monitor electrodes from his chest. The drip he wasn't sure about so he slid the needle out of his arm and left it hanging. He could hear the alarm sounding at the nurses' station and knew that they would come and check on their patient soon. He dragged the unconscious man off the bed and into the small bathroom adjoining the ward. He let Hotchner fall into the gap between the bath and the shower, and he hid behind the door. But he need not have worried. No one thought he would be hiding here. He would just sit it out, and then find a gurney to wheel Hotchner to his car.

Simple! He grinned when he thought of what he had planned.

It was about half an hour before the crowd dispersed and Lowe was able to emerge from his hiding place. Sure enough there was a gurney waiting in the corridor for him to use. He wheeled it into the room where Hotchner had been lying, and he dragged the man out of the bathroom, and lifted him onto it. He covered him with a paper sheet, and put a paper cap over his hair. He didn't want anyone recognising him. Then he simply wheeled him to the lift and pressed the call button.

The journey from the lift to the doors was the most likely place to be stopped; after all, what was he doing taking a patient outside to the car park. But aside from a few strange looks, no one tried to stop him.

Security! Ha! They were all searching the hospital and the ambulance bays, no one thought to check the visitors' car park. No one would dare wheel a dying man off the premises in full view of everyone. And hospital management had insisted on security keeping a low profile so as not to alarm the patients and visitors.

Getting Hotchner into the car was not easy. He could almost imagine that he was being deliberately awkward. But eventually he got him sitting in the front seat. He pulled the tube out of his mouth, and Hotchner gagged. Lowe thought for a horrible moment that he was going to throw up in his car. He didn't allow eating or smoking in his car, definitely didn't allow throwing up. Looking at Hotchner sitting there, he so wanted to hit him, beat him senseless like before. But he wanted him awake, so he refrained from beating him, and thought that was a pleasure for later if he survived.

He strapped Hotchner in the front seat and rested his head sideways so that he looked as if he was sleeping. Then he began the drive back to the warehouse where he hoped Reid was waiting for him.

After a few minutes, Hotchner groaned as if he was coming round.

Good.

He could hardly wait for the games to start!

-0-0-0-

Emily sat by Dave and held his hand.

"Dave, we need you to wake up." She said. "Hotch has been taken out of the ward. Someone just waltzed in and took him. Security is hopeless. We think it's Lowe. So if you can hear me, and if you can wake up, we need you."

Dave moved his fingers against her hand. Yes he could hear her, and he wanted to wake up, but the pain killing medication he was on was making it difficult to concentrate.

"Emily," he whispered hoarsely, "I need ........a drink."

-0-0-0-

Hotch opened his eyes as the car pulled up in front of a set of steel warehouse doors. Lowe got out of the car and Aaron watched as he opened the shutter doors. He got back in the car and drove into the warehouse, and got out again to close them. Hotch tried to move, but he had been sedated in the hospital, and couldn't lift a hand. He tried to look out of the window into the warehouse, but without his glasses his vision was limited. He had no choice but to wait until Lowe came back, or the sedatives wore off. His hand hurt where the hospital had stitched up the wound, and his throat hurt where he thought there had been a tube. He didn't know why his chest hurt.

He heard the clanking as the shutter doors came down, and Lowe came back.

"Ahh you're awake!" he said. He undid the seat belt and Hotchner slumped forwards. Lowe held him around the chest and pulled him out of the car. Then he leaned him against the car and turned him round. Then walking backwards across the ante room, he pulled Hotchner after him.

Hotch's bare feet scraped along the concrete, leaving a bloody trail behind him.

"I've got a surprise for you, Hotchner." He said. "Your lover Spencer Reid has been missing you. He actually denied that he was your lover! Can you believe that?"

Aaron didn't say anything, but he now realised why Reid had been picked out for special attention. Lowe dragged him to a chair to which he was tied hand and foot, then the chair was turned around.

Reid was sitting opposite him, similarly restrained. He was sitting high in the chair, the garrotte now cutting into his neck as he grew tired and sank down.

"So now Hotchner, Reid, I give you a choice. Stay where you are, or change places."

"Change places." Hotchner whispered without a moment's hesitation.

"No!" Reid said, trying to keep upright on the chair.

"I'll leave you two love birds to decide." Lowe said with a smirk, and walked away from the two men.

"I will take your place, Reid. He is going to kill me anyway. At least this way one of us will live."

"Hotch, he's not going to let either of us live."

"My orders are that I will take your place. Those orders will stand...." Aaron hunched forwards, breathing heavily, exhausted. "Run when you get the chance." He said softly.

"So what have you decided, boys?" Lowe said, coming to stand between them. "I hope you are not going to disappoint me!"

"I will take Reid's place." Hotch said without lifting his head. "Let Reid go."

Delighted at their choice, Lowe pulled the garrotte off Reid' and pushed his chair to the side so that he could watch what was going to happen. Then he dragged Hotchner over to the loop. He placed the loop over Hotch's head onto his neck. Lowe pulled Hotchner's head up by his hair and tightened the loop. He broke the ties holding his hands in place, and tied them together. Then he released his feet. Hotch sat with his head resting on the back of the chair, his hands tied in front of him. The glass cut into the soft skin of his neck and blood ran down onto his hospital gown. He shivered in the damp cold air of the warehouse.

"You are going to hang me?" Hotch asked, not a shake in his voice.

"Soon! Soon! Agent Hotchner, I didn't have you down as an impatient type, Agent Hotchner. Firstly, I want you to feel some pain like I felt."

"I am feeling pain, Lowe. You have killed everyone I love, and taken my son. I feel pain."

"Please, Leave him alone, Lowe. Haven't you hurt him enough?"

"Not by a long way, Boy." He said. "I have plans for this scum."

He moved the video camera round so that it was pointing at Hotchner. He zoomed in to see the garrotte closely, then zoomed out again. He went and stood in front of the camera.

"Now we play dying with Agent Hotchner." He said, and turning around, he pulled the chair away from under him. His full weight was now being taken by the wire noose. He raised his hands to try to hold the wire. The glass cut his neck and hands, and the wire started to cut through. Standing next to the gagging struggling Agent, he announced to the camera, "The slow decapitation of Agent Aaron Hotchner. Enjoy, my friends, enjoy."


	9. Jack

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 9  
Jack

"_**Repressed sadists are supposed to become policemen or butchers" - **__**Cyril Connolly **_

"Cut him down!" Reid screamed. "For the love of god, don't kill him!"

Reid struggled with his bonds as Aaron's struggles lessened, and his gasps faded to a deep gurgling sound. Lowe switched off the recorder and cut the wire. Hotch fell to the ground in a bloody heap. The circular cut around his neck still had the wire embedded in it, and blood ran into his hospital gown that he was wearing. Shakily he raised his hands to release the wire. His breathing was rasping and painful. He rolled onto his back and looked up at Lowe. He tried to speak but the words wouldn't come.

"Please don't kill him." Reid begged, although he knew in his heart that the pleas were a waste of time.

"It's not the time to kill him yet. He has to suffer more first." Lowe said. "He is too willing to die. Death is too easy."

He downloaded the video into his camera and sent the video to Rossi's phone.

"I think they will enjoy that one!" he said, and in one smooth and shocking moment, punched Reid in the mouth. Aaron reached out to him, and Lowe kicked him out of the way. He lifted the still bleeding man onto the chair and strapped him down again. Hotch sat facing Reid, head slumped forwards, eyes closed. Somewhere a mobile phone rang. Lowe moved out of their view and answered it. Then the lights went out and they heard the sound of the shutter doors open and the car driving away.

Reid spat blood onto the floor. "Hotch, can you hear me?"

There was no answer from the dying man.

-0-0-0-

"Dream Boat, get in here quick! I think I have got a break!"

Morgan put down Dave's cell. The horrific image of Hotch being hung on the wire had made him feel physically sick. He didn't think there was any need for Garcia and Emily to see it. He closed the image and ran to Garcia's bunker.

"What have you got, Baby Girl?"

"Look at this!" she said in triumph, and Morgan looked at the grainy blocky image on the screen. It was of a car leaving a car park.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it is the UnSub's car leaving the hospital grounds, you are right!" Garcia said. "And look at this!"

Another image of a car leaving a freeway via an exit ramp. "Same car!"

"Are you sure?" Silly question. "Of course you are sure."

"Look!" A small square appeared around the licence plate in each picture. Garcia pressed a key and the tiny image enlarged to show identical numbers. "I'm sure." She grinned.

"Where's that intersection?" Morgan asked

"Right here." Garcia said, pointing to a map that appeared on the screen. "And before you ask, here is a list of all empty large non-food warehouses in that area." She handed him a list she had printed off.

"You are my angel!" he said. "I'll put an APB out on the car. He might use it again, and lead us to our men." He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, you know."

-0-0-0-

Lowe wasn't happy leaving the two Agents alone, but he was fairly certain that they were too badly hurt to escape. He needed to go and see the woman who had bought the child off him. She could hear the brat crying in the background when she had called, and the stupid woman was asking for her money back.

Stupid bitch. What did she think this was? Bloody Wal-mart?

He was going to have to shut her mouth, permanently if necessary!

He pulled up outside her house. He could hear the kid crying from the road. Great! Sooner or later someone would hear the kid and report it to Social Services.

He hammered on the door, wondering if she would hear it over the racket. She flung the door wide.

"Thank goodness you are here. I can't keep this child, he won't stop crying. I want my money back."

"Sorry, that's out of the question. I'll take the kid, but you don't get the money."

"But I can't afford it!" she whined. "You pay me or I will report you for child trafficking."

"I don't think so!" he shouted, and smacked her face with the back of his hand. "How dare you threaten me!" he roared, and as she got up he hit her again. She was crying now.

"I am sorry! I won't report you!" she cried. "Please don't hurt me!"

"I can't take that chance." And he put his hands around her neck and squeezed. It always amazed him how a pretty woman can look so ugly when being strangled to death. Her tongue stuck out and her eyes bulged before she died. He let her body drop to the floor and went to the bedroom to get the kid.

Now Lowe was a killer, but he hated killing kids. He got the child by the hand and led him through the house to his car. He strapped the still sobbing child in the front seat and drove away from the house. The woman lived alone, and didn't work. It could be days before she was found.

"Do you want a Happy Meal, kid?"

"Donalds! Yes please!"

Polite kid. He really hoped he wouldn't have to kill him. Now what to do with him? He didn't really care now. He had his money, but he might be able to sell him again.

Crap! Was it worth the hassle of stupid bitches threatening him!

He drove into MacDonalds and bought a Happy Meal. He sat the kid in a corner seat and went to the men's room. He stayed in there for a minute or two, then just walked out, leaving the child eating his chicken nuggets.

That's that problem solved. Now for the two fags he had in the warehouse.

-0-0-0-

"Hotch, please, we have to get away. Hotch!" Reid called to his friend, but there was no response. Reid tried to scrape his chair across the floor to him. As he got closer, Hotch raised his head. Reid saw that the wire was deep into his neck, and the bleeding had not yet stopped.

"Can't .....escape..... dying...." Hoch raised his head to look at Reid. Hotch's eyes were dotted with petechiae. He tilted his head to the side.

Reid was bleeding from his mouth, and the long slicing cut down his abdomen as dripping blood onto the floor. As he scraped his chair across the room, a trail of blood was left in his wake.

"Hotch, please, we have to get away now, before he comes back."

"Can't walk....you...get help...."

"If I can get off this chair, I will be able to help you." He said. He had almost reached him now. "I'll get alongside you, Hotch, and see if you can break these ties."

He lined his chair up next to Hotch but Hotch had passed out.

"Wake up, please." But it was useless. Reid was too weak to break the ties, and Aaron was unconscious.

-0-0-0-

"Hello, little boy." the woman asked. "What is your name."

"I'm Jack." he said. "But Daddy said I wasn't to talk to strangers."

"Your Daddy is very sensible. Is Daddy here?"

"No. A bad man put me here. Daddy at work."

"I'll get a policeman who will find your Daddy for you."

"My Daddy is a policeman. He's an FBI man."

The MacDonalds cleaner, name of Joyce, got her cell phone out and called 911. She gave the details, and sat down with Jack.

"Would you like an ice cream, Jack?"

"No thank you. Daddy says not to take things from strangers."

"You are a good boy." Joyce said, impressed. Not many children would say no to ice cream. She stayed sitting with him for the time it took for the police to arrive. The two who arrived were both women.

"Will you come with us, Jack, and we will find Daddy for you."

Jack happily got off his stool and went with the two cops. Joyce smiled after him a little sadly. Poor little lad.

"You will let me know what happens, won't you?" she called after them, but the door swung closed and cut off her words.

-0-0-0-

Lowe had arrived back at the warehouse in a foul mood. He didn't mind killing people, he had no qualms about that. But each killing was a chance of getting caught. And he wasn't ready for that yet. Angrily he yanked Reid's chair away from Hotch. He woke Hotch up by shaking him by the shoulders His head flopped the other way and he opened his eyes. He didn't say anything, just stared at him with his deep dark eyes. Lowe back handed him. He hated the accusing way he looked at him.

"Don't hit him!" Reid cried out. "You're killing him!"

Lowe kicked the chair over that Reid was sitting on, and the wood broke and splintered.

"See this, Hotchner. When this one is dead, then it will be your turn!"

"Why do you have to hurt him?" Aaron asked hoarsely. "You hate me, not him."

"You can watch your lover die." and, holding Reid up by the ragged clothes he wore, beat him around the head. Blood sprayed from his mouth and nose, and his neck cracked as his head jerked from side to side. He bit down on his lip to stop himself from crying out. He did not want to give the UnSub the satisfaction, nor did he want to distress Hotch any more. But when Lowe dropped him on the floor and started to kick him, Hotch cried out to him.

"Please, leave him alone!" Hotch said softly above the groaning of the man curled up on the floor. "Please."

Lowe ignored Aaron and stamped on Reid's broken fingers. He shrieked and couldn't prevent it. Lowe then finished up by kicking Reid in the groin. He couldn't stop himself and he did cry out. The pain enveloped him like a shroud and he rolled over, groaning and crying. He crawled onto his hands and knees, and threw up onto the floor, coughing and gagging as the agony of that last kick refused to die away. Each movement sent a rush of pain through him, and his hands and wrists squelched in the blood that ran freely from them. He folded his arms around the back of his head and curled up, attempting to protect himself. Blood was running freely now, and he felt light headed.

"That's enough! You evil bastard! It's me you want!" Aaron tried to shout but it was painful to talk. But his words got the attention of Lowe. Who turned from Reid and attacked Hotch still tied to the chair. He picked up a leg of the chair Reid had been on, and used it to beat Hotch with. The first swing across his knees, and he jerked back in an attempt to get away. Hotch heard a horrible crunching sound as the wooden post dislocated his knee caps. He screamed in pain, and gasped as he raised the weapon to strike again.

-0-0-0-

"You've got him there?" Morgan could hardly believe it. "Is he hurt?"

"He has a cut on his leg, but other than that he is not physically hurt. Just very distressed. We are trying to locate his father. Jack informs us he's an FBI man, but he can't tell us his name."

"Hotchner. Aaron Hotchner. He is out of the office at the moment. Can you take care of him for a while while we try to locate his father?"

"I think we can do that." the woman said. "Keep us informed."

"I will." Morgan put down the phone. "They've found Jack. Abandoned in MacDonalds."

"Thank goodness for that. Poor little boy." Emily said.

He crossed to Garcia's bunker. Emily followed. "Doll, we have another location for your program." He said. "Jack has turned up in the MacDonalds here." He pointed to a crossroads on the map. "Show me a satellite image of all the buildings between the two points."

Garcia brought up the requested picture. It was difficult to see them, as it was getting dark and the streets around there were not lit.

"I have an idea." Garcia said, and at the click of the mouse, some of the smudgy images of buildings had a line drawn around them.

"Those are all the ones on the list I gave you." She said. "Makes it more manageable."

"What is that one there?" Emily said, pointing to one of the outlined buildings. "It looks as if there is a light on in there."

"Are these warehouses empty?" Morgan asked.

"Yes. That one has a part glass roof. And there is a light on." Garcia said.

"Emily, I think we need to check it out!" Morgan said, running to the lift. "This could well be it!"


	10. The Showdown

**THE HURTING  
**Chapter 10  
The Showdown

"_**We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will." - Chuck Palahniuk**_

The second swing was down onto Hotch's wrists. He felt bones break as the chair leg came down on him. The third was across his forehead and he didn't feel anything. Lowe lifted Aaron's head by the hair.

"It's nearly time, Hotchner." He said. Blood was running from the horizontal gash above his eye brows, and the blood seemed to excite Lowe. He crossed back over to Reid, who was curled up on the floor.

"Get up." He nudged him with his foot. Spencer forced himself onto his hands and knees, and then onto his feet. He stood swaying, blood running from his wrists and ankles.

"Please don't hurt Hotchner any more." Reid begged. "Please leave him alone."

"I'm not going to touch him. You are."

"I refuse to play your sick games, Lowe. I will not hurt Aaron. I love him."

"And you are going to show me how much. I want you to take him like you did in the museum."

"I will not!" Reid said. "I'll die first."

"That might be true, but if you don't do as I tell you, it is your Hotchner who will die." And to prove the point, he smacked the back of his head with the wooden stake. Aaron's head rocked forwards and he coughed blood into his lap.

"You are going to kill us both anyway. So I will not co-operate." Reid said. He looked at Aaron's blood and hair on the weapon and felt sick.

_I am so sorry, Hotch, but I can't do this to you......._

Lowe pulled Reid across the floor to where Hotch was still tied to the chair, head forward, blood running down his face and across his shoulders. The skin on his broken knees was split, and blood was trickling down his bare legs. Spencer longed to embrace him, and love him. There was nothing he wanted more than to have a loving relationship with him. But not like this, He refused to rape an unconscious man again.

"I will not touch him." Reid said, tears cutting pale lines down his bloody cheeks. "I love him."

Lowe swung the weapon and hit the side of Reid's head, knocking him to the floor. His vision phased in and out as he tried to focus, He rolled out of the way as the stake came down on him, and again he tried, but this time Lowe anticipated the move, and caught Reid across the ribs. He raised his broken hands to ward off his blows and screamed when the stake caught his fingers. He crawled away from Lowe towards the corner of the room, and Lowe watched him go. He was getting bored. Now was the time for killing........

..........although he was more than a little bit surprised that Hotchner was still breathing, although the sounds of his breaths were harsh and un-natural, and hopefully terminal. He looked around at the blood smeared floor. Then he looked at the sad excuses for FBI Agents that he had control over. There would be more blood before he was finished.

-0-0-0-

Morgan drove, Prentiss silently rode shotgun. It was dark now, and Morgan ignored the speed limits as he tore through the almost empty streets. They left the city and drove past the MacDonalds where Jack had been found, and into the industrial area beyond. At last just ahead they could see the light shining upwards through the glass roof of the warehouse. He stopped gunning the engine and came to a halt a little way down the road so that Lowe wouldn't hear him coming, and the two Agents got out, guns poised, flashlights shining. There was a shutter door that was almost closed. Morgan lay down next to it and rolled under the door. Emily followed. Bent double, and without making a sound, they crept around the edge of the room towards a slightly open door from where they could see light shining. Morgan could hear the sound of something hitting flesh, and when he rounded the edge of the door, he was sickened at what he saw.

"FBI! Freeze!"

Lowe crouched down behind Hotchner who wasn't moving. Reid was groaning in pain, curled up protectively behind him. Lowe reached out and pulled him over to where he was crouching.

"Well, FBI, are you going to risk shooting your own man?" he yelled. "Maybe he's dead and it won't matter! Are you going to risk it?"

He stood up, Reid in front of him, Lowe's arm around his neck, gun at his head. "Shoot me and this one is dead as his lover."

"Put down your weapon. You have no where to go!"

Lowe was walking backwards towards a narrow staircase leading up onto the roof of the warehouse. Each step he took, Morgan matched. As soon as he was level with Hotchner, Emily ran to him. Morgan continued to follow Lowe. Reid's eyes were wide.

"He's killed Aaron, Morgan." Reid shouted. "Just shoot him!"

Lowe jerked Reid's head back by the hair. "Shoot me, I kill him!" Reid yelped as his neck cracked

He was on the bottom step now, slowly making his way up one tread at a time, dragging Reid with him. Morgan slowly was closing the gap between them. He heard Emily behind him calling 911 ambulance and police back up.

"Back off, FBI!" Lowe shouted as he realised Morgan was closing on him. "I'm not stupid!"

Morgan took a small step back. "Give up, Lowe. I will shoot you. This is suicide."

Lowe was six steps up now. Morgan was ten feet from the bottom of the stairs. Reid was stumbling and bleeding, the gun was pressed into his cheek. Morgan had no doubt that he would use it. He stayed where he was and waited until Lowe was on the top step.

Still holding his hostage like a shield, Lowe kicked backwards to open the door onto the roof. He backed through the door and out of Morgan's sight. Morgan ran up the stairs to catch him up.

The roof was in darkness except where the light blazed through the glass skylights. He was still walking backwards across the roof, Reid in front of him.

"You may as well surrender, Lowe. If you try to shoot your way out, I'll kill you. Give up, and live."

"I will live, whatever happens." Lowe shouted. "My crimes have made me immortal."

"I will make sure your name is never known if you kill Reid." Morgan threatened.

He took another step, and Reid stumbled onto his knees, then everything happened slowly, like an action replay, except in this replay, the outcome was by no means certain.

Lowe crouched down and tried to pull Reid back up, and Reid turned and pushed him. Lowe lost his balance, and fell back onto the glass skylight, squeezing the trigger. Reid and Morgan fell to the ground and the bullets shot harmlessly over head.

Lowe seemed to lie on the glass for a second or two – or did it just seem like that as time was running so slowly? – and then the glass cracked.

He seemed to know he was finished as the window bowed under his weight. He made a grab for Reid, gripping his arm and as the glass finally gave way, Lowe slipped over the edge.

Lowe clung onto Reid and was swinging in the air fifty feet above the ground. Shards of glass fell around him onto the floor below.

"Don't drop me!" Lowe shrieked as Lowe's fingers slipped on the blood on Reid's arm.

"I can't hold you!" Reid said. "My fingers are broken."

Slowly Lowe's hand slid down Reid's arm.

"Help me!" he entreated.

Morgan tried to reach past Reid to get hold of him, but he couldn't reach far enough.

"I can't help you." Reid said as Lowe's fingers came away and he fell from the roof onto the concrete floor below.

Emily watched from the warehouse floor where she was holding Hotch in her arms. She watched Lowe slip away from Reid and crash to the concrete. She left Hotch and went to him. He was lying face up on the floor, still breathing. She stood and looked down at him. The man who had killed with impunity, and hurt the people she loved.

He looked up at her with terrified eyes.

She turned away and left him.

In the distance she heard police sirens.

-0-0-0-

"I've never been...... so glad to see you!" Reid said to Morgan. He tried to stand but the shock of the past few days overtook him, and had fainted on the roof. Morgan Carefully picked him up in his arms and carried him down the stairs. He laid him on the floor on his jacket. Emily had untied Aaron, and was speaking softly to him.

"He's alive, Morgan, but goodness only knows how." She said. She didn't touch the wire around his neck, although she longed to remove it, but she was afraid she would do more damage. Every where he was damaged, and she wished the emergency services would hurry and get him back to hospital where he should be.

"You have to get through this, Aaron. There's a little boy who is waiting to see you

Hotch moved his hand to hers, and she gently held on to it.

"I am so sorry I let him get to you, Aaron, I should have been guarding you." She said. "I won't let you out of my sight again."

Hotch opened his eyes and looked at her. He was beyond speech, but his eyes were filled with tears.

Morgan went to check on Lowe. He was twisted at the waist and Morgan thought his back was probably broken. He was breathing, but harshly and rattley.

"Please!" he choked, his begging punctuated by coughing. "Don't..... let me....... die"

"How does it feel, you sonofabitch?" Morgan hissed. "How does it feel to be dying while someone watches and enjoys it?"

Lowe coughed blood which ran down the sides of his face. He blinked frightened eyes at Morgan.

"You have to..... help me you....... are FBI."

"I don't have to do anything, you filthy scum." And he too turned his back on him and went back to the people who mattered.

The paramedics had arrived now and were carefully lifting Hotch's body onto a gurney. Two others were trying to make Reid do as he was told and lie still on the trolley.

"I can walk!" he said. "I don't need this."

"Just do as you are told, Kid." Morgan scolded, although in his heart he was proud of Reid's bravery.

Two more medics came into the room with a spine board and head restraint for Mason Lowe, but he was dead.

"The meat wagon will come for him." Morgan said angrily. "He's not worth the effort of dignity. He will go into a body bag."

-0-0-0-

Morgan and Prentiss rode in the ambulance with Reid and Hotchner. The medics cleaned and stitched up the cut down Reid's abdomen and the contusions on his body where he'd been kicked and beaten. His broken fingers would need to be set under anaesthetic.

They didn't touch Aaron though, as most of what had been done to him needed theatre. They called ahead and warned the surgical staff. Emily stroked Aaron's hair and gently touched his face. The medics had put light bandages around his neck to stop the bleeding and covered the wound on his forehead. He had two broken wrists and his knees were badly injured. Emily was concerned about his walking, but she would have to wait for the doctor's verdict on that.

She gently squeezed his hand. He was sleeping, and didn't respond, but she knew he would be alright.

-0-0-0-

Back in the warehouse, Mason Lowe was zipped into a body bag.

-0-0-0-

**END**

**A/N ok that's the end of Lowe! Was his death nasty enough? I need to get racking the brain now for a bunnie for the next story. I hate not having one lined up ready! I hope you enjoyed the story, and thank you to all me lovely reviewers. Aggie xx**


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